Children's Book Review: Chopsticks

In light of my post a few weeks back about chopsticks in the garden, I want to share this cute book I picked up at our local library.

Chopsticks (2012), by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon, is an endearing and hilarious tale of best pals who are literally inseparable, until one of the “sticks” breaks his tip while karate-chopping an asparagus. You’ve got to see the illustrations—zany fun! 

Chopstick #1 doesn’t leave Chopstick #2’s side while his friend heals, but after much persuasion, Chopstick #1 ventures out into the world to see what one lone chopstick can do. He masquerades as a veggie skewer, pick-up stick, cupcake tester, and conductor’s baton before returning to his pal Chopstick #2 (now healed) and realizing that being apart has made them even stronger.  Then, off the pair goes to share new adventures (as drumsticks and a compass). 

The anthropomorphic illustrations (teabags and whisks--even pick-up sticks--with faces) and the pun-filled text (i.e. the sugar packet says, “Sweet!”) will keep you and your child giggling.  And you just might discover some new uses for one or two of your own chopsticks. 

Chopsticks…in the garden

It’s mid-spring here in Central Ohio, and time to get veggie gardens prepped for planting in a few weeks.  I have two raised beds in my backyard, a 4X8 patch made out of cedar planks and a long, skinny 1X16 bed (new this year!) behind my garage.  Everytime I go outside to work in the gardens, I find a new use for old chopsticks--chopsticks that are losing their paint/lacquer or that have been misshapen and dried out from the dishwasher.  If your family eats with chopsticks, chances are that you have several old pairs that are ready to retire to the garden.  

Here are three eco-friendly ideas that you can use this spring:

1. Use chopsticks to secure weed cloth to the ground.  

When installing a new raised bed, one of the first steps is to lay down some type of weed cloth or landscape fabric as a barrier to weeds before adding your soil.  After laying down the cloth, instead of metal garden staples (which often have to be purchased separately from garden centers), grab a few chopsticks. As long as the soil is relatively soft, you should be able to push the chopsticks through the cloth into the ground to serve as an eco-friendly (and cost-efficient) alternative to the staples.

2.  Use chopsticks to poke holes for planting seeds.  

Sure, you can use your finger, but if you (or any children helping you) don’t like dirty fingers, use a chopstick to poke holes for seeds. If you prefer an accurate measure of how deep you’re planting the seed, mark inches or centimeters off with a sharpie or pencil on your chopstick before you poke it into the soil.

2.  Use chopsticks to mark your rows. 

After planting your seeds, use the same chopstick as a row marker.  Simply write the name of your plant (again, a sharpie works great) on the chopstick, and you have a eco-friendly reminder of where you've planted the seeds.

               

These are just a few ideas. I'm sure I'll be discovering many other uses for chopsticks this planting season. 

How do you use chopsticks in the garden or outside of the kitchen?